Webupon

No matter if you’re printing brochures, catalogs, flyers or business cards, there are guidelines you must follow for nearly all online printing companies. Although quality and price vary greatly between online printing companies, the minimum file sizes and the types of files accepted are somewhat universal. The guidelines presented here will give you a good ballpark figure of what you need to print just about anything.

Print Ready Files

Usually PDFs, QuarkXPress, Photoshop or InDesign files are required. To make your file print ready, follow this checklist:

• Include a 0.125 or 1/8-inch bleed outside the trim lines. (The bleed allows for slight shifting of the paper when cut so that you don’t end up with a thin white line at the edge of your business card or flyer.) So if your document is being printed on 8.5 x 11 inch paper, your file with bleeds should extend to 8.75 x 11.25 inches.
• Embed all fonts into your file.
• Use the same type of spot color consistently: use PMS 3265, not a PMS color here and another type of color elsewhere.
• Delete all unused spot colors.
• Attach copies of all files and links, including photo files or graphic files. Also send along fonts used. A font set with a certain name on your computer could be different from the font set with the same name on the printer’s computer.
   

Color

When you first open your Photoshop or InDesign or whatever kind of file, you should have the option to turn your RGB document into a CMYK document. Any kind of file you submit needs to be converted to CMYK color because that is what all printers use to print. If you leave your file in RGB mode, your printer either won’t print your document, or if the printer does print it, the colors will all look slightly different than what you expected.

Photo Files

Save your photos as either .tif or .eps files. These formats are best for preserving color and clarity of photos. Some file formats, such as .gif or .jpg, compress the pictures so that they don’t take up as much space on your computer. Photos need to be saved at least 300 dpi (dots per inch).

File Naming

Use descriptive, yet standard file naming conventions. These conventions include:

• Keep the file names to 32 characters or less.
• Use letters, numbers, the underscore or dash. Don’t use any other unusual characters.
• A three letter file extension must be used on all files (e.g., .tif, .pdf).
• Use only one period in the file name. That period should be before the file extension.
   

These are all typical guidelines for any online printer. You’ll be either emailing your files or burning them onto a CD to snail mail to the printer. If you have any questions about file formats or other guidelines, your online printer’s Web site should answer your questions.